


Meathook

by Ambivalent_Amber



Category: King of the Hill
Genre: Mysterious disappearances, Questionable meat, Suspense, butcher - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:48:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24480790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ambivalent_Amber/pseuds/Ambivalent_Amber
Summary: A new gang rolls into Arlen, setting up a butcher shop selling questionable meat that everyone likes. After a string of kidnappings sets Arlen on edge, Bill goes missing too. What is happening in Arlen?
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	Meathook

Hank took a sip of his morning coffee, his eyes glued to the paper. What was happening in his little Arlen? There was another kidnapping this week. That totaled up to five so far since the beginning of the month. It appeared to be random. He worried for his wife and boy.

"Morning Peg." He said with a forced chipperness.

"You're up early." She said as she poured herself another cup of luscious coffee. She splurged and got a better brand.

"Mhm." Hank nodded as he read the article hungrily. These kinds of things just didn't really happen there. Everyone was abuzz about the kidnappings and search parties were organized as well as one vigil already.

"Was someone else taken?" She asked anxiously. Hank nodded grimly. She shook her head.

"Do they have any leads?" She asked, tense, ready to strike this unknown enemy.

"Not yet. It seems to be random. The victims don't have any connections to each other." Hank said, putting the paper down and leaning back in his chair. He rubbed his face tiredly under his glasses. Arlen used to be a safe place.

Peggy pulled out a skillet and got to work making breakfast. She wanted to make sure her boys were fed before going about their day. "Oh." She said quietly to herself when she cracked the egg into the trash and threw the eggshells into the awaiting skillet. She shook her head and corrected her mistake.

"Be careful Peggy, no unnecessary stops. Take Bobby to school, until this guy is caught at least." Hank said before taking another long drink of his coffee.

"Already on that, Hank." Peggy said with thinly veiled irritation. She wasn't an idiot. She sighed, he did mean well.

Peggy placed three plates on the table just as Bobby sat at the table. He ate his breakfast with gusto.

"Bobby, I'll be picking you and Joseph up from school for now on." Peggy said as she took another sip of coffee.  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hank had returned from work, mulling over joining one of the search parties. It was almost impossible to ignore since his co-workers were buzzing with theories and airing worries. He was tired to say the least. Hank went inside and got ready to go out to the alley.

He stood by the fence, the first one there today. Odd, Bill was late with the beer again. Hank sighed and hoped he would arrive soon, he was getting mighty thirsty. Hank considered coming back later when Boomhauer and Dale arrived a few minutes apart.

"Where's Bill?" Dale asked as he pulled out another cigarette.

"Talk about dang ol' thirsty man." Boomhauer said.

Hank shrugged. "He's late today."

"What if the kidnappers got him?" Dale asked with a hint of humor.

"Don't joke like that man." Boomhauer snapped and elbowed him.

"It was just a joke, what would a kidnapper want with Bill anyway?" Dale said, rolling his eyes behind his mirrored sunglasses.

Hank shook his head and sighed heavily.

Another hour passed and no Bill. Hank had brought a few of the beers he kept for himself at home. They were beginning to wonder if their friend was okay. It was unusual for him to be so late. If he was going to be, he usually texted one of them.

Dale was prattling on about some theory he heard about the disappearances and related it to alien abductions. It still didn't explain why Bill was late. Hank shot him a quick text. Usually it wouldn't be such a big deal, but this kidnapping business had them on edge.

Hank went back to his beer and waited to get a text back.

No such text came. The sun was setting now and no sigh of Bill. Dale was convinced it was some Army experiment while Hank and Boomhauer hoped he was okay and just off doing something. Hank tried calling him only for it to go straight to voicemail. This worried him. Bill was suicidal after all.

"I'm going to go looking for him." Hank said as turned to leave. Dale and Boomhauer were right behind him. They all hopped into Hank's truck. The air was tense. They hoped Bill was just moping somewhere or at the bar.

"Where could he be?" Dale asked, exacerbated after they had been driving around for a couple hours.

Hank was about to say something when a brown car caught his attention. His breath caught in his throat as he pulled over. It couldn't be. They got out and rushed over to the abandoned car. Hank looked in the car and saw it was empty. He went to open the door and to his surprise it swung open. He set his jaw as he anxiously looked around outside. He went to shut the door when he spotted Bill's phone wedged in the seat. Bill was always good at keeping his phone on him.

Hank shut the door and looked around. He spotted multiple footprints by the trunk of the car. There didn't appear to be any kind of obvious struggle.

"Bill!" Hank called out, no response. Maybe he wanted to just get some fresh air?

They spent the next hour combing the area with no sign of their friend. Hank made the wise choice of calling the police.

They waited for the police. "It had to be aliens." Dale started again when he was hushed up. This was too serious for that right now. The air was too tense, almost suffocating, it was also kinda muggy too.

A squad car pulls up to them and out stepped an older officer. Hank greeted him and did all the talking.

The officer takes down notes and makes a report of it, sending Hank and friends home.

The ride home was tense. This was too real, too close to home. They rode the rest of the way in silence. Once back at Hank's place they disbanded and quietly went back to their homes.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hank tossed and turned in his sleep. What could have happened he wondered.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Wanted to try something different. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated <3


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